Monthly Archives: August 2018

“Little Italy” Trailer and Poster

comedy, romance, , , , , , , , , ,

Directed by Donald Petrie,  who also directed such romantic comedies as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Miss Congeniality brings a playful story of the Romeo and Juliet theme. The tried and true them takes place in Little Italy in New York City.

The two families at odds are owners of rival pizzerias. Instantly, I can think of all sorts of fun puns to add to this article about the movie. I am going to give it to you straight. The story follows two former childhood friends Leo, played by Hayden Christensen, and Nikki, played by Emma Roberts. Like the Shakespeare story, they are attracted to each other as adults—but will their feuding parents’ rival pizzerias put a chill on their sizzling romance. If you are familiar with the story, this particular one is not a tragedy. It is a romantic comedy. A first date movie makes it safe for a budding romance.

I am interested in seeing Christensen play a leading role in a romantic comedy since his past roles are Anikan Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. If you recall, Anikan turns into Darth Vader. I was also impressed with his role in Shattered Glass as Stephen Glass. The young reporter who fell from grace when it was discovered he fabricated is articles.

The cast includes Alyssa Milano, Danny Aiello, and Andrea Martin.

“The Little Stranger” Trailer, Movie Clips, and Posters

based on a book, drama, horror, , ,

I become giddy when I find a horror movie I know I will enjoy and appreciate as a production. Such is the case with The Little Stranger. Based on a bestseller directed by Lenny Abrahamson,  the story follows Dr. Faraday, played by Domhnall Gleeson, the son of a housemaid. He built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor.

During the long, hot summer of 1948, the doctor is asked to visit a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked. The Hall has been home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries. The doctor is surprised to find the home is no longer grandiose but in decline, and its inhabitants, mother, son, and daughter, are haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life.

He takes on his new patient with no idea how closely and disturbingly the family’s story is about to become entwined with his own.

The featurette clearly explains the story and how the director works with the story.

The movie clip shows how the young doctor wants to climb social status. Perhaps his desire prevents him from seeing the darkness within the family.

Watching this clip is the reason why I want to see this movie. It is suspenseful and horrific in a daunting way.

The movie clips show how Abrahamson keeps the movie centered on the doctor but with undertones of suspense. This is going to be a great horror movie.

“Green Book” Trailer, Movie Clip, Featurettes

drama, true stories, , , , , ,

Directed by Peter Farrelly, Green Book is a road trip movie that follows Tony Lip, played by Viggo Mortensen. Tony is a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx. He is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley, played by Mahershala Ali. Dr. Shirley is a world-class Black pianist on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South.

Together, they must rely on The Green Book to guide them to the few establishments that were safe for African Americans at the time. Based on a true story, they confronted racism, danger, unexpected humanity, and humor. They are eventually forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.

I first saw Mortensen in The History of Violence and thought he nailed it as the former hired killer, Tom Stall, now a happily married father who is forced to return to violence to save the life he nurtured and created in a small town. Now, he seems to capture a Bronx bouncer magically and effectively.

Ali recently won an Oscar for his role in Moonlight. The role of Dr. Shirley is much different from that of Juan in Moonlight.

Farrelly made a name for himself by directing two hilarious comedies, Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber.

The featurette is over five minutes long. It goes into great detail about the story. This is a powerful movie and a lesson in dignity.

The featurette tells us about the Green Book itself.

The featurette tells us the story and how it will affect us when we watch it in the movie theaters. The story has impeccable rhythm.

The movie clip is adorable.

The movie trailer seems fitting for a road trip movie.

Watching these two actors work together is authentic entertainment and a lesson in acting. I hope you get a chance to see the movie.

“What Men Want” Trailers and Poster

comedy, remakes, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Directed by Adam Shankman, What Men Want follows Ali Davis, played by Taraji P. Henson. She is a successful sports agent constantly kept on the sidelines by her male co-workers.

Ali is passed up for a rightful promotion, giving her an honest look at her success and future. She asks herself what she needs to accomplish success in man’s world.

By hook or by crook and a concoction from a wise witch or gypsy, Ali gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts. With her newfound power, Ali outsmarts her co-workers and races to sign the next basketball superstar.

The lengths and hurdles she goes through to pull it off will put her relationship with her best friends and a potential new love interest, played by Aldis Hodge, to the test.

Does this story sound familiar? The screenplay is by Nancy Meyers, who directed Mel Gibson in What Women Want. Released in 2000, the movie carries the same premise with Helen Hunt playing the love interest. Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Vuspa wrote the screenplay based on the story by Goldsmith, Vuspa, and Diane Drake.

Eighteen years later, What Men Want is more raunchy and ethnically diverse. Shankman is best known for directing John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Christopher Walken, and Zac Efron in Hairspray.

Henson is a dynamic actress with a strong presence on screen. Her role as Katherine G. Johnson in Hidden Figures made the movie great. She recently made a massive impression in Tyler Perry’s Acrimony.

Also starring in What Men Want are Tracy Morgan, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Josh Brener, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Max Greenfield, Jason Jones, Brian Bosworth, Chris Witaske and Erykah Badu.

The first trailer is funny. Enjoy!

The following trailer is funnier. I laughed and laughed. This movie is for Girls Night Out. We all go to the movie theater together and bring the house down.

“The Landing” Documentary Trailer

documentary, , ,

Co-written, produced, and directed by David Dodson and Mark Dodson, The Landing is a tricky documentary because the filmmakers are not openly saying if this is true or fabricated about the tragic Apollo 18 mission.

The documentary stars Don Hannah as Bo Cunningham; Warren Farina as Ed Lovett; Jeff McVey as Al Borden; Cindy Lou Adkins as Kate Borden; Page Hannah as Sandy Cunningham-Bates; Arlene Hughes-Martinez as Joan Lovett; Robert Pine as congressional representative Pete Pellarin; Craig Stepp as Mike Russo; and Joe Santaniello as Fred Calder. 

The Landing focuses on today’s fake news environment and demonstrates how easy it is to fool the world. Watch the trailer, which is not straightforward; you will see how the movie seems natural but is a lesson on fake news propaganda.

It was an exciting time in NASA’s Apollo missions. In 1973, the United States operated space program experienced an extraordinary tragedy, an event that, despite its place as one of the most disturbing episodes of the “space race,” was nevertheless all but ignored during the emerging Watergate scandal that ultimately claimed the presidency of President Richard M. Nixon.

Returning from a successful lunar landing mission, NASA’s Apollo 18 suffered a computer error that forced command module pilot Bo Cunningham to take the controls and fly the spacecraft to an emergency landing in the remote Taklamakan Desert of western China, far from the intended splashdown target in the Pacific Ocean. Thirty-six hours would pass before NASA located the spacecraft, the site of a national tragedy. What happened during the astronauts’ time in the desert, the inquiry that followed, and the mystery surrounding the event, is the subject of The Landing.

“Presented as a documentary, our movie demonstrates how unsettlingly easy it is to reshape people’s memories,” said the LANDING co-writer and co-directors David Dodson and Mark Dodson, who explained that many viewers of the award-winning film were convinced it was a real documentary regarding actual historical events when it appeared at film festival screenings. “It’s one of the abiding themes of the project and particularly germane in today’s cultural and political climate amidst the whole ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ lunacy.”

The Landing won awards while on the festival circuit. Best Director at the 2017 Boston Sci Film Festival – Best Thriller at the 2017 Burbank International Film Festival – Best Feature at 2017 Escape Velocity, Washington, D.C.